Top 5 Customer Service Articles For the Week of July 15, 2013

Top Customer Service and Business Articles

Each week I read a number of customer service articles from various online resources. Here are my top five picks from last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think too.

Create an Exceptional Customer Service Culture by Carolyn Crews

(CRM Magazine) A strong company culture has become more than a fringe benefit. Culture is now a deciding factor for employees when choosing where they want to work. And once they are employed, culture impacts how they work inside that company—influencing their actions and attitudes toward each other and, more importantly, toward customers.

My Comment: If you want to have an exceptional customer experience, the first thing is to have an exceptional culture – specifically a customer focused-culture. That is where it starts. The tips shared in this article are great ideas to create a culture, that when it comes to customer service, will define your company.

How to Create a Perfect Customer Experience by Peter Sandeen

(Duct Tape Marketing) If you’re not getting the customer referrals or repeat business you hoped for, something’s wrong. Here’s how to create a perfect customer experience.

My Comment: The title is intriguing. There is obviously a lot that goes into creating the perfect customer experience, but to start with, you can’t go wrong with the ideas shared in this post.

Is Bad Customer Service Linked To “Bad” Leadership by Jaquan Bland

(Got Service) The conclusion I have come to is that THERE IS a direct link to leadership (or lack of) and bad customer service.

My Comment: There is no doubt that leadership plays an important part in a customer service culture. A lack of leadership, or leadership that doesn’t model the right way to treat people, will have a negative impact on the employees, which is felt by the customer. Conversely, strong leadership who emulates the way customers should be treated by treating their employees that way (or even better), creates a culture that is customer focused. Culture and leadership – are two of the most important concepts behind a great customer service experience.

Best Way to Track Customer Retention by  Jeff Haden

(Inc) Here’s the easy formula that every business owner should know by heart.

My Comment: Simple is good, but not always easy. And when it comes to calculations about customer retention, loyalty, churn, etc., there are so many different ways to track and measure, that it can be dizzying. I like this very simple formula to track customer retention. From here, you can start to analyze other numbers that are also telling, such as the amount of each purchase, the frequency, etc.

The Challenge of Building a Customer Experience Team by Jeannie Walters

(Sensei Marketing) From the outset, the dream team is doomed. Not due to lack of talent or desire, but lack of direction and understanding. The same thing is happening with customer experience teams in organizations today.

My Comment: In theory, customer service/experience should be easy.  After all, isn’t a lot of it common sense? The reality is, that common sense is not so common, and that making something easy isn’t always so easy. And, when it comes to building a customer experience team, well that too can be a daunting task. This short post has four simplistic ideas to use in putting together the customer experience team. But, don’t confuse simple as being easy. Take the time to work through these ideas and your company – and your customer experience team – will be better off as a result.

Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops at www.Hyken.com. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.

(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)